More than 3,800 riders have signed up for OCBC Cycle 2023 in just three weeks
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Participants at the start of the OCBC Cycle 2022 at the National Stadium.
ST PHOTO: SYAMIL SAPARI
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SINGAPORE – Three weeks after its launch on Feb 7, OCBC Cycle 2023 has seen more than 3,800 sign-ups, over half its 7,000 target.
This registration rate is also 30 per cent faster than the 2019 edition, the last full-scale event before the pandemic, organisers said on Wednesday. It added that more than 60 per cent of sign-ups for the May 6-7 OCBC Cycle are first-time participants.
The Mighty Savers Kids & Family Ride, a 5km category for children aged 5 to 12, is sold out though the Mighty Savers Tricycle Ride for those aged 2 to 5 is still available. Other popular categories are the Sportive 40km Ride and Straits Times 20km City Ride.
Koh Ching Ching, OCBC Bank’s head of group brand and communications, said: “We did not expect to see such a fantastic response… Hitting more than 50 per cent so soon has been an absolute joy for the team. We hope to see the momentum continue and even hope to exceed our target of 7,000.”
The lifting of Covid-19 restrictions has allowed for the return of the Teach-a-Child-to-Cycle programme, with sporting retailer Decathlon as a new partner. The project will see 20 kids from low-income families receive lessons from professional trainers from the Singapore Cycling Federation over three sessions, culminating in The Mighty Savers Kids & Family Ride on May 6.
Decathlon will also sponsor each child with a bicycle and $100 worth of credit to buy the relevant equipment.
Kieran O’Shea, marketing leader for Decathlon Singapore, said: “Our purpose every day is to make sports accessible to the many and through such a project, we are making cycling accessible to children, thus ensuring that the future generation is living through the wonders of sport.”
The OCBC Cycle, now into its 15th edition, has an ongoing early bird promotion – up to 23 per cent off registration fees and a chance to win a Brompton P Line foldable bicycle worth $4,555 – until March 7. More information is available at ocbccycle.com.
